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Ongoing Saturday afternoon workshops sessions.

Guided projects, and individual tutoring/mentorships.

Sessions can be scheduled at your convenience.

Join us on Saturday afternoons for a very hands on, very project oriented exploration of internet technologies.
Sessions run every Saturday afternoon from 3-4:30pm (now ongoing).
You can register for individual sessions ($20) or for a discounted six-week package ($100).
Students can start anytime they want, sessions do not have to be consecutive.
New students will be introduced to the current group class project and brought up to speed at their own pace.
When they are ready and interested they will have the opportunity to do an individual or partner project at the same time.
They will build real, interactive web pages from the ground up using current internet development techniques and interface design.
On an ongoing basis we cover the basics of how the internet works, about cyber-safety and security, social networking best-practices, and how to search effectively and authenticate the results.
Recent projects have included a Random Haiku Generator, a Music Transposer, a Kitten-Themed Matching Tile Game, and an interactive dungeon adventure game.
Projects like these allow each student to be creative with the content, theme, and design, while having fun learning the core internet technologies of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Cancellation policy: free make-ups for individual sessions with 24 hours notice, two weeks notice for 6-session package for full refund (if we can fill the space we will issue whole or partial refund if at all possible)

Age range: tweens and teens, contact us for special requests

Requirements: Students will need to bring a laptop or iPad to each session

Homework: Optional - projects will move faster if students choose to work at home

Parental involvement: Parents are welcome to observe, relax in another room, or drop off. Our home is walking distance to Wheaton Library, Wheaton Plaza, Starbucks, Subway, Panera, and Wheaton Metro.

Ongoing Sessions: After the first six sessions, currents students will have the option of continuing to advance their projects or work on new projects in a mentorship/computer lab format. New students will be accepted as space permits, and individual/ad-hoc sessions will be available in addition to the 6-session package.

Our new space, graciously provided by School for Tomorrow, will accommodate a small to medium sized group with lots of room to stretch out. Class size will be kept to a maximum of ten students to permit highly individualized instruction. The pace of the class will be tailored to each student, so those who have no internet or programming experience are welcome, as are those who have already done some web development. The six week class is payable in advance for $100. Ongoing sessions thereafter will be available in prepaid 6-session blocks, or $20 drop in. In either case, reservations will be required so we can keep track of the numbers. Sessions beyond the initial 6-week intro project will give students the opportunity to explore the technology more deeply and work on more complex, original, and individualized projects. For ongoing sessions, current students will be given priority for a mentoring workshop experience to explore more advanced concepts, while new students will be welcome as space permits.

The workshop is being presented by Josh Carpenter, a senior support engineer for Microsoft. He has been doing web development professionally and as a hobbyist since 1994, and has been a homeschooling father for most of that time, with an -year-old son and a -year-old daughter. Josh has worked in multiple school, home, and community settings as a social, recreational and academic facilitator. He is also the founder of SNAP, the Special Needs Access Project, an agency dedicated to providing one-to-one recreational and educational support to individuals with special needs.

A: Both! We have prepared an introductory project that will take about six weeks,
but those six weeks can be scheduled at your convenience.
You can purchase 90-minute sessions individually for $20, or a discounted six-session package for $100.
You can use the six sessions any time it's convenient for you.

Q: What happens if we can't do all six sessions or if we have to miss a session?

A: It is no problem to miss session, they do not have to be contiguous, schedule and reschedule as needed.
Advanced notice is requested so we can try to fill the space, and refunds will be offered with sufficient notice.

Q: Will you have this workshop again in the future?

A: It's ongoing! You can start on any Saturday, as long as we have the space.
We will bring on new kids for fresh ideas and to give the more experienced students an opportunity to be mentors themselves!

Q: What will students be doing after their first six-week project?

A: Students are invited to continue to enhance their initial projects or take on new, more challenging ones.
It becomes a mentorship/lab kind of experience for them as long as they are interested.
We are keeping the class size small so that this kind of individualized pace is possible.

Q: What about weekday or evening sessions?

A: We are considering this, please let us know what day(s) and times would work best for you.
If we can work it out, we will!

“You really give them a perfect combination of encouragement, instruction, examples, and letting them figure things out, collaborate, and participate in the fun and ingenuity of discovery. Many kudos to you for putting together this great course!”

“I am amazed by the way you make such technical and complex aspects of computer web design accessible. You bring it down to earth, while keeping enough complexity so the kids can use the concepts effectively. That is a tremendous skill - to simplify without oversimplifying, and also even more important you have a real way with kids and young people that allows you to talk to them as a knowledgeable guide and instructor with skills to share, exploring the subject with them without talking down to them - you're a tremendous natural teacher.”

“Your class has been amazing for [my son], he really enjoys having you as a teacher. Thank you so much for all you have taught him and all the time you have spent with him.”